The Other Language

by Francesca Marciano

  “Are you with the NGO?” he asks me.

  “No.”

  “Just visiting?”

  “Yes.”

  “There are no hotels, you know. Not even a guest house.”

  “I’m staying at a friend’s place.”

  “Are you?” He looks at me with a hint of suspicion. “Is it an African friend?”

  “No. An old friend from Italy. He has been living there for fifteen years.”

  “Is this the man who works for that NGO?”

  “Yes. That’s him.”

  “I thought so. Someone at the embassy in Dar suggested I see him to get some advice. I’ve got his contacts somewhere.”

  He opens his leather briefcase and flicks through his documents.

  “Here it is. Andrea Nelli, right? I spoke to him last week on the phone, he’s expecting me. Well, that’s quite a coincidence, isn’t it?”

  I nod, politely.

  “Then I’ll come along with you to his place. We can share the cab. If you don’t mind.”

  “No, I don’t,” I say, even though I do, actually.

  “I just need to ask him a few questions, it’s not going to take long. He’s the only mzungu that lives on the island, other than Jeffrey Stone. I’m staying at Jeffrey’s, I know Jeff from Nairobi. He’s the local veterinarian and hates it there. Apparently your friend has been on the island for, what did you say, fifteen years?”

  “More or less, yes.”

  “Jeffrey has been there only three months and he’s desperate to leave. Not much company.”

  “No?”

  “No. And it’s a dry island. No booze. The death of an Englishman. Very traditional Muslim community.”

  That, I’m aware of. Andrea has instructed me over the phone “long sleeves and no bathing suits. You can swim in a dress if you really have to.”

  Carlo Tescari seems eager to extract more details about my host.

  “What’s he like? He wasn’t very forthcoming on the phone.”

  “I haven’t seen him in ages. Since he moved out here.”

  “I see.”

  He takes a good look at me.

  “So is this a happy reunion?”

  “Yes.”

  “A sort of ‘Dr. Livingstone, I presume’ moment.” He chuckles, then adds, “I hear your friend has become very local.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised, given that there are only locals, as you say. Except for your unhappy vet, of course.”

  He grins, showing a crown of teeth so white they might even be false.

  It troubles me, to arrive at Andrea’s house in the company of this man. I had envisaged a completely different scene when I decided to track him down a couple of weeks ago. And now, after such a long journey, I am nearly at his doorstep, about to show up with exactly the kind of person he will loathe.

  This part of the journey, from the Big Island to the Small Island, was a last-minute diversion from my original itinerary. I’d been invited to attend a conference in Dar es Salaam on ecosystem disturbances and the management of protected forests. It was only once I was on the plane to Tanzania, while perusing the map of East Africa, that I realized how close I’d be to the place where Andrea had disappeared. Not exactly close-close, but certainly closer than I’d been in all this time, when it seemed he had vanished somewhere unreachable and exotic, never to be found again. None of us—not any of his friends—had ever heard of this tiny island in the Indian Ocean, which at the time of his disappearance was mentioned only in passing in guidebooks; later, when we’d all become expert Internet surfers, all I could find online in relation to the island were a couple of blurred photos of the ruin of a mosque, as though no travel writer had ever cared to explore it.

  I’m a biologist with a doctorate in agriculture and food sciences and my specialty is biodiversity in Central European forests. At the conference in Dar I spoke at length to a sleepy audience on the effects of atmospheric pollution on lichens. Afterward, in the half-empty conference room, a mix of scientists from different parts of the world exchanged mild comments about my talk over watery coffee and stale biscuits. Before I could say anything they had already switched subjects, and were discussing the heat, the malfunctioning of the air-conditioning in their rooms and the poor reception on their phones. Once in my hotel room, instead of giving in to my resentment, I decided I still had a chance to give this exhausting trip a more significant purpose. To finally get hold of an ex-lover I hadn’t heard from in ages seemed a much more rewarding task than introducing rare species of lichens to my colleagues. I Googled all the local airlines till I found a connection that could take me to the island where Andrea supposedly still lived. From Dar I’d have to fly to the Big Island and from there the only way to the Small Island would then be to get on a rusty ferry that takes a day and a half. The Indian Ocean tends to be choppy—at least that’s what I read on Trip Advisor—so I opted for a twelve-seater plane. Before I bought the tickets I Googled Andrea’s name in various combinations with the island name till I found a number for an NGO. Someone picked up the phone after the first ring. It was him. I gasped.

  “Andrea? You are not going to believe this. It’s Stella.”

  “Hi, Stella, where are you?”

  He sounded wholly unfazed.

  “I’m in Dar es Salaam. Not too far from you.”

  “What are you doing in that horrible city?”

  “I am a speaker at an international conference on biodiversity.”

  “Sounds like you got your Ph.D. after all.”

  “I did.”

  Silence. I thought maybe the line had been cut off. Then I heard him clear his throat.

  “Come see me. I haven’t spoken Italian in so long.”

  “I was thinking I actually might do that. I could come for three or four days. If that would be okay … I mean, if you are not too busy.”

  “Just come.”

  There was another pause. I then tried a more familiar tone.

  “Andrea? It’s wonderful to hear your voice again. It’s been such a long time. How are you?”

  “I’ll tell you when I see you.”

  Naturally Carlo Tescari sits next to me during the short flight on our tiny plane and continues with his entire life story and his future business plans. Apparently our shared nationality gives him the right to treat me like an old friend and there is very little I can do to fend him off. So I learn the real purpose of his trip. On the east side of the island where the main village is situated, the coast is just mangroves and muddy shores. But on the northwest side, beaches as white and as soft as talcum powder stretch for miles and miles. He surveyed the coastline from a Cessna a couple of months back. He opens the briefcase and shows me a map. On a half-moon-shaped cove he plans to scatter a few thatch-roofed huts (he calls them bandas), with a larger common area built in natural materials and to be exquisitely designed by a Dutch architect. A minimalist, ecological, yet stylish and highly comfortable retreat for people seeking complete privacy in the wilderness. Of course he’ll need to bring a road and water, but he doesn’t think it’ll be that hard.

  “Building the road is going to be the most work of all, but I think I can get some politicians involved,” he says. “Hopefully your friend can give me some advice as how to oil the right people.”

  From the sky the landing strip looks like a narrow slit cutting through the dense foliage. I close my eyes and hold my breath till we touch ground. The ride in an ancient blue taxi corroded by rust is just as bumpy as our landing; the roads on the island are packed dirt scarred by large ruts. It’s baking hot, the earth is a deep vermilion and there’s a film of orange dust shrouding the trees lining the way. I keep my eyes on the window, looking straight ahead, while Carlo Tescari goes on and on about the difficulty of dealing with old-fashioned Muslim politicians who don’t welcome foreigners.

  As we approach the town, an ugly tower looms over the tops of the trees. Its concrete structure is covered in blackish mold, the plaster is flaking
, the window frames have rusted badly and have come off in places. Strings of faded laundry adorn the squared balconies of apartments that look as though they were intended for the Russian working class. The tower—designed in the seventies by an architect in Leningrad? A gift from the Communist party to the president of this corrupted republic?—is rotting away in the sticky weather. We keep on driving, past the town on a winding road snaking through coconut and banana trees, random patches of vegetable gardens, ugly cinder-block houses. Women carry yellow plastic buckets on their heads sloshing with water. I intercept their corrugated brows and suspicious looks as they peek at the white people inside the car without smiling.

  So this is where he has been all these years, while we, his friends, fell in love with other people, moved to different cities, got our degrees and found jobs. Some of us had children, some of us died in car accidents, some overdosed, some became famous, others did nothing with their lives.

  In the beginning, when he first left, we often wondered why Andrea had stopped answering our letters. Then, as the years went by, we ceased to think about him, as though it were pointless to keep track of his existence: he’d simply gone too far and had fallen off the radar. If we mentioned his name, it was always only to say how lucky he was, to be living in such an exotic place, to have fled from our pasty, predictable, urban lives.

  Funny, how we assumed the island he’d escaped to should be a setting out of a Graham Greene story: we pictured a small colonial town on the edge of a harbor in a lush, tropical landscape, its narrow streets winding through a lane of wooden buildings with lacy balconies, latticed verandas, with a touch of romantic decay.

  He’s waiting for us on the porch of the house—another no-frills cinder-block box with a blue door and small windows—standing erect, with arms crossed, in an assertive posture that demands respect. He’s wearing a starched white kanzu and a kofia and, because of his dark hair and tanned skin, he doesn’t look that much different from the local businessmen I flew in with. He’s put on some weight and grown a short beard. He’s quite stocky, actually, and his curls are gone, though his green eyes flicker for a moment when he sees me and that flash of mutual recognition gives me a jolt in the stomach. I feel a light resistance from him, a rigidity, when I fling myself into his arms. He moves his face slightly to the side, so that I miss his cheek and end up kissing air. He steps backward and smiles shyly.

  “Hey, Stella” is all he says.

  “I can’t believe I finally got hold of you!” I almost shout, unable to repress my enthusiasm.

  “Wait a minute, let me deal with him first,” he says calmly, almost dreamily, lifting his chin toward Tescari, who has stayed behind, talking to the taxi driver, possibly telling him to wait for him.

  It’s disappointing, of course, that joy for this reunion should be put on hold and mitigated by the presence of a stranger.

  Tescari sprints onto the porch baring his white teeth. He offers his hand.

  “So very pleased to meet you at last. I can’t stand communicating via e-mail or phone; one has to be able to look people in the eyes when talking business, don’t you think?”

  I catch a flash of surprise in his eyes as he takes in the white kanzu and kofia.

  Andrea doesn’t answer, he simply shows us into a small room, empty save for a green couch sheathed in plastic, a makeshift bookcase with a few paperbacks, and a sisal mat on the cement floor. On the bare walls hangs but a single picture, Arabic calligraphy. Tescari takes in the ambiance, then throws me a reproachful glance, as if I have lured him into a trap. Andrea shows him the couch.

  “Please sit down.”

  Andrea instead sits on the floor, folding his legs in lotus position. Tescari slides uncomfortably onto the very edge of the couch, as though he wants to avoid contamination, and the plastic cover makes a screeching, embarrassing sound under him. He opens his briefcase and pulls out the drawings. I stand, as I’ve not been asked to sit down yet, glad to keep a distance from the position that Tescari has been given on the couch.

  There is a moment of uncomfortable silence. Andrea and Tescari stare at each other as if neither one wants to be the first to speak. Then Andrea makes a gesture with his hand, signaling that Tescari should begin.

  Tescari fumbles through his documents, then unfolds a large drawing.

  “As I told you on the phone, I have investors in Europe that are extremely keen on this project. They are ready to come in as soon as I let them know the permits have been secured. Here, take a look at the plans.”

  Tescari hands the drawing down to Andrea, who takes a cursory look at it and says nothing. I hear a noise in the next room. Someone is splashing water on the cement floor.

  “We’re planning to fly the clients down from Dar to make it easier for them to reach the camp. All we need is a landing strip for a Cessna, that’s not a problem, but we’ll have to build a road to carry building materials and so on.”

  Tescari taps his shirt pocket.

  “Can I smoke?”

  “No. You can go outside if you wish.”

  Tescari leaves the pack of cigarettes in the pocket.

  “How far is the beach from the main road? From the plane we couldn’t see, the foliage was too thick. And how about water? Do you have any idea how deep one has to dig?”

  Andrea doesn’t answer. Just sits there with his legs in a knot. Tescari is puzzled but decides to ignore the awkward silence.

  “You are the first person I am talking to, here. I will see the Ministry of Land and Forests as well, of course. But before I do I wanted to have a clearer picture of the technical aspects. I was told you’re the best person to talk to since you know everybody on the island.”

  Tescari watches as Andrea folds the map shut.

  “I’ve lived in East Africa long enough,” Tescari says. “I know it can be tricky to start a project like this if you are an outsider. That’s why I came to see you first. To get a sense of—”

  Andrea hands the plan back to him. He speaks, slowly, enunciating each word distinctly. His tone is steady, unwavering.

  “You can rest assured you will not get any permit, nor any help, to build this resort. The people on this island are not interested in facilitating this kind of project so that you and your investors can stash your clients’ dollars into a Swiss account. If anything, I will do everything in my power to prevent this from happening.”

  There’s a moment of silence. Tescari clears his throat.

  “I’m afraid there’s a misunderstanding. We are going to hire locals. Everyone will profit from this venture,” he says. “By which what I really mean is that it will give jobs to lots of people. I’m sure that you, more than anyone here, realizes that this island needs some—”

  Andrea raises his palm to stop him.

  “This is a traditional island. We won’t allow foreign speculators to wreck our customs and offend our values. We don’t want half-naked tourists on our beaches smoking and drinking. The people here don’t need jobs, we grow our own food and catch our fish, and this is the way the island has lived for centuries.” Andrea’s voice is quiet, unperturbed. “We don’t need you. Is that clear enough? Now you can go. Please.”

  And he stands up, gesturing toward the door with a sweep of his arm.

  Tescari shoots up, holding his folded plans to his chest, stunned. He turns toward me. “This man is crazy.”

  “Please go. I see your taxi is still waiting for you,” Andrea insists, standing by the door.

  “Crazy,” Tescari says to me, a finger to his temple. “Honestly, if I were you I wouldn’t stay here.”

  And then he’s out the door.

  I hear the engine start and the taxi pulls away. It is a relief and yet part of me feels abandoned.

  “Wow,” I say.

  I’m waiting for Andrea to remark, waiting for him to erupt in a roaring laugh and utter something outrageous. For him to undo the monastic posture, get out of the starched kanzu and declare that what he just said was a jok
e, a performance he played on the Italian with loafers.

  Instead he keeps very still and suddenly I feel uneasy.

  “What are you?” I ask.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What are you here, anyway. Are you some kind of mullah?” I say, with a nervous laugh.

  Andrea strokes his short beard and thinks for a moment. He doesn’t get that my question is meant to be humorous.

  “No. Although I did convert to Islam years ago.”

  “Oh. I see,” I say, as though that explains everything.

  We stare at each other uneasily. I look around the empty room and I wonder many things at once: whether he has a guest room for me or I am to sleep on the screeching plastic couch, whether he might in fact have gone crazy or even be under medication, whether coming here was a terrible mistake. It has nothing to do with his converting to Islam. It’s that he just seems so much slower. Numbed.

  “That guy,” he says, “isn’t the first one to show up here with a plan. I’ve told them all to fuck off. One by one.”

  Here he gains a bit of speed. He’s more animated and that feels reassuring.

  “I know how their plans work. They build what they call an eco-friendly self-sustainable camp in the wilderness for a pittance, so that for five hundred dollars a night millionaires can take a crap under the stars. Then, slowly but very very surely they declare the beach off limits, they deny access to the local fishermen because their clients need their ‘privacy.’ As though this has been their land for generations. Over my dead body they’ll get in here.”

  “Absolutely!” I cheer. I’m relieved: he’s sounding like himself at last.